With parental engagement and support to choose age-appropriate games, mobile gaming can offer both parents and children a great way to interact and develop a number of skills.
Health benefits of playing mobile games
Playing games that help children test their strategic thinking and awareness of their wider environment can help boost memory, spatial awareness and problem-solving. In some cases playing games can also improve dexterity in younger children.
There are a number of active gaming apps that test endurance and encourage children to run, jog or jump to gain points or navigate through a game. The most popular of these using augmented reality is Pokemon Go that encourages children to go outside to take part to enhance gameplay.
- Bringing families together
Playing simple games like Ellen Degeneres ‘Heads up’ app or other similar apps that allow smartphones to become a tool to enhance group play can be a great way to take ‘Games night’ to another level.
Games that test children knowledge of maths, science or other areas of interest can enhance learning and make it more fun for children to stay engaged in a particular subject.
Games can also allow children to explore creative worlds and use their imagination. This helps them to learn new ways to tell stories and learn about the world both emotionally and sympathetically as well as facts.
- Supports children with special needs
Depending on the games they play, playing video games online can help children with special needs with communications skills, motor skills, organisation, and social interaction and reading and writing.